The Inevitable

Epilogue

Bella bent down and placed the flowers on the ground, then straightened up.

"Is it still terribly upsetting?" Edward whispered in her ear, snaking his arms around her waist.

She sighed, leaning back into his body and closing her eyes. She reveled in his closeness, his touch, just as she always did. Time had failed to put any damper on her reaction to him.

"No…not terribly. Sometimes I still feel a little…guilty I guess. That his life was so terribly affected by me. That he suffered the way he did."

"It wasn't your fault."

She nodded, her head still leaning back into his chest. "I know that now. It may be harder to accept sometimes…but in my heart I know it. Sometimes I think that what happened to him…everything that happened…was such a shame."

Her eyes looked down at the grave again, then moved over to the left. Jacob's wife lay right beside him for all eternity, the dates showing that they had spent many wonderful years together.

"But then I figure…maybe he was really grateful for it. For what he was…that he got to wait for her to come along. Even if some of the years were really hard…that maybe their time together made up for that."

Edward's arms tightened around her. "I'm certain that's exactly how he felt."

She turned in his arms, smiling up at him. "Sometimes it can still be very hurtful, thinking about them all. Jacob, Renee…Charlie. Charlie especially." She sighed, looking up at the sky. "But then I think they're up there somewhere, looking down at me…that they can see I'm happy. And I think…maybe that makes them happy too." Her gaze fell back down to Edward.

He kissed her forehead, taking her hands and holding them in his. "It's almost a double edged sword being back here. Some painful memories…but so many good ones at the same time."

She smiled, leaning up to kiss him softly.

"It's your birthday, you know," he whispered, the look on his face mischievous.

She rolled her eyes, then socked him in the arm. "Didn't we agree no more counting after one fifty?" she demanded.

He chuckled. "You must understand why it's a day I would want to celebrate."

"Uh huh," she murmured. She pulled herself away, grabbed his hand, and began walking down the hill.

"Do you want to make a wish?"

She looked up at him, smiling luminously. "What would I possibly need to wish for?"